The check the Ionia County Road Commission got from the state this month is almost $8,000 less than it was last year at this time, thanks to a decline in gasoline and registration taxes collected.

Payment received by the road commission from the Michigan Transportation Fund (MTF) was $396,769, compared with $404,712 in 2011. Other MTF check totals this year have ranged from showing an increase of $16,061 over last year, received in February, to showing a decrease of $25,831 compared with last year, received in June.

"What really helps us is the fund balance, the reserve," said ICRC Managing Director Dorothy Pohl. "If we get less money, we've been able to manage that variability, and we are fortunate to have been able to."

Most of the income in the MTF is collected through Michigan's fuel taxes and motor-vehicle registration fees, and is earmarked for transportation-related expenses like road and bridge maintenance including filling potholes and plowing snow. MTF money accounts for at least 50 percent of the total road commission budget, and in some years more, Pohl said.

She told members of the road commission board at their meeting Wednesday that gas tax receipts roughly follow price hikes. When gas prices rise, people tend to buy less gas, so less money is collected by the fund in taxes. She added she is not sure why there was a decline in registration tax income for the month.Total MTF money received year to date is $4,190,851, which is $43,277 ahead of last year, with the December check still to come.

Net MTF distributions statewide were down by nearly 1.9 percent for the month of September, which is paid out in November; although for the 12 months ending Sept. 30, receipts were up 1.1 percent, according to Pohl.

The state is projecting a less-than-1-percent increase in MTF revenues for fiscal year 2013, and about a half-percent increase for 2014. However, Pohl said she flatlines that income line in the road commission budget.

"I'd rather be conservative. I don't like to disappoint people," she said, adding that she hates to promise a project will be done, then have to cut it because there is not enough money.

"That's worked relatively well over the years. We look at the budget three times over the year, to see how money is coming in and can we push it (and do the project)," she said.

In other business, County Highway Engineer Wayne Schoonover reported that 14 routine permits were issued for October, including four residential/farm drive permits and 10 utility permits, reflecting a 17 percent increase for the month and a 10 percent increase for 2012 over 2011.

In addition, 17 special move permits were issued in October: 16 single oversize/overweight permits and one single mobile/modular home permit.The 16 oversize/overweight permits were related to an exploratory well-drilling operation on property on Grand River Avenue in Orange Township owned by Ken Christensen, said Schoonover. As a commercial entrance, which receives more traffic than a residential entrance, the driveway had to meet road commission requirements.

"We would normally require a hard surface, but our understanding is this is an exploratory well, so we didn't want to make a financial impact and other impacts," he said. "We allowed them to use crushed concrete for now. If the well pans out, they will be required to turn it into a hard surface entrance."

If the well doesn't pan out, the crushed concrete and culvert can be removed with minimal impact on the environment, Schoonover added.